1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer networks and, more particularly, to efficiently distributing data among a plurality of solid-state storage devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
As computer memory storage and data bandwidth increase, so does the amount and complexity of data that businesses daily manage. Large-scale distributed storage systems, such as data centers, typically run many business operations. A distributed storage system may be coupled to client computers interconnected by one or more networks. If any portion of the distributed storage system has poor performance or becomes unavailable, company operations may be impaired or stopped completely. A distributed storage system therefore is expected to maintain high standards for data availability and high-performance functionality. As used herein, storage disks may be referred to as storage devices as some types of storage technologies do not include disks.
To protect against data loss, storage devices often include error detection and correction mechanisms. Often these mechanisms take the form of error correcting codes which are generated by the devices and stored within the devices themselves. In addition, distributed storage systems may also utilize decentralized algorithms to distribute data among a collection of storage devices. These algorithms generally map data objects to storage devices without relying on a central directory. Examples of such algorithms include Replication Under Scalable Hashing (RUSH), and Controlled Replication Under Scalable Hashing (CRUSH). With no central directory, multiple clients in a distributed storage system may simultaneously access data objects on multiple servers. In addition, the amount of stored metadata may be reduced. However, the difficult task remains of distributing data among multiple storage disks with varying capacities, input/output (I/O) characteristics and reliability issues. Similar to the storage devices themselves, these algorithms may also include error detection and correction algorithms such as RAID type algorithms (e.g., RAID5 and RAID6) or Reed-Solomon codes.
The technology and mechanisms associated with chosen storage devices determine the methods used to distribute data among multiple storage devices, which may be dynamically added and removed. For example, the algorithms described above were developed for systems utilizing hard disk drives (HDDs). The HDDs comprise one or more rotating disks, each coated with a magnetic medium. These disks rotate at a rate of several thousand rotations per minute for several hours daily. In addition, a magnetic actuator is responsible for positioning magnetic read/write devices over the rotating disks. These actuators are subject to friction, wear, vibrations and mechanical misalignments, which result in reliability issues. The above-described data distribution algorithms are based upon the characteristics and behaviors of HDDs.
One example of another type of storage disk is a Solid-State Disk (SSD). A Solid-State Disk may also be referred to as a Solid-State Drive. An SSD may emulate a HDD interface, but an SSD utilizes solid-state memory to store persistent data rather than electromechanical devices as found in a HDD. For example, an SSD may comprise banks of Flash memory. Without moving parts or mechanical delays, an SSD may have a lower access time and latency than a HDD. However, SSD typically have significant write latencies. In addition to different input/output (I/O) characteristics, an SSD experiences different failure modes than a HDD. Accordingly, high performance and high reliability may not be achieved in systems comprising SSDs for storage while utilizing distributed data placement algorithms developed for HDDs.
In view of the above, systems and methods for efficiently distributing data and detecting and correcting errors among a plurality of solid-state storage devices are desired.